


When the Horizon Breaks

by rudigersmooch



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Desperation, End of the World, M/M, See end notes for spoilers, mild xeno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25921747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudigersmooch/pseuds/rudigersmooch
Summary: At the end of the world, John and Todd have a conversation.
Relationships: John Sheppard/Todd the Wraith
Comments: 12
Kudos: 39
Collections: Rare Pairs Exchange 2020





	When the Horizon Breaks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skitz_phenom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skitz_phenom/gifts).



> Hello recip! I couldn’t resist writing you this treat, since you were kind enough to use the Todd!nonny batsignal. :) I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Oh, and thanks so much to R for the beta! They do good work. :)

“Isn’t it funny that we’re here again, John Sheppard?”

“Maybe it’s just me,” John said, wincing when speaking pulled at the cut on his lip, “but I’m not laughing.”

Todd huffed, but John didn’t pay him any more attention when he resumed his pacing. Being imprisoned in a cell made of sturdy iron bars and with his favorite-least-favorite Wraith for company didn’t spell good news by any stretch of the imagination, and that was even before John remembered that they were technically standing in a temporal rift that was about to swallow this planet. A timely escape was a little beyond him at the moment, and no matter how much he’d paced over the past hour, a solution hadn’t presented itself.

When another circle around the cell yielded the same results, John sighed and looked out the nearest window, regretting it almost immediately when he saw that the sunset was beginning to fracture and dissolve. Worry and fear twisted his stomach, but he pushed them aside as he pushed away from the wall in frustration.

“If they would’ve just listened to us—”

“What did you expect, Sheppard?” Todd asked in a tone of mild curiosity. “Humans rarely trust other humans accompanied by Wraith, and you did insist that I follow you to explain their predicament.”

“How is it _my_ fault that your idea of ‘neutral ground’ was a planet on the verge of collapse?” John grumbled, because shifting the blame was easier than admitting Todd had a point. At the time, John hadn’t thought about what it would look like, trying to explain the end of the world to a village full of scared humans when the only scientist he had was a being from their worst nightmares. In hindsight, it wasn’t his best plan, but he hadn’t seen another option; by Todd’s original estimate, they’d had a little over five hours to evacuate the entire settlement to Atlantis, and that was assuming the stargate could even work when reality was beginning to disappear around them.

That had been four hours ago, and any hope John had—that Atlantis would realize their predicament, that the village would decide to believe them after all, that a miraculous rescue would appear—vanished around the time Todd’s hive came crashing down from orbit. The commotion had sent everyone running into the surrounding forest to escape what they thought was a Wraith attack, leaving John and Todd as the only people still trapped in the village. Even if someone had wanted to listen to them, there was no one left to give them a chance…and by the time they realized what was happening, it would be too late.

John started pacing again, but he’d only gone a few feet before Todd moved from his own position against the wall to stand in his way.

“Enough, Sheppard,” he said, too calmly for John’s liking. “There’s no point.”

“That’s quitter talk,” John shot back. “For all you know, I might wear a hole in the floor so we can escape that way.”

“I would join you if I thought it would help, but I don’t think this planet’s stargate exists anymore.” Todd crossed his arms and nodded in the direction of the other window, the one that John had been deliberately ignoring. “Even if we could escape this cell, we’d never make it past the trees. The mountains are already gone.”

Some part of John had known that. He’d felt it in the growing silence of the world around them, as birds and insects and people had simply stopped making noise. In light of that, he was strangely grateful for Todd, who could at least be counted on to keep talking right up until the end.

That didn’t mean, however, that John was ready to give up. 

“You’re taking this pretty well,” John remarked, because it was either that or push around Todd to keep pacing, and he doubted Todd would let him get away with that.

“There are worse ends.” Todd smiled at him faintly. “This isn’t even the first time I’ve thought I would die alongside you, John Sheppard.”

“Yeah, we need to stop getting in these situations. I’ll make a note of it when I get back.”

Todd laughed, and then—to John’s shock—he reached up to grab his shoulders. 

The hold was brief, a companionable clasp that was as nonthreatening as it was possible for a Wraith to be, but John stiffened regardless. He and Todd simply didn’t _do_ things like that. The very idea was madness, and so was the fact that John missed it, a little, when Todd let go.

“All right, Sheppard,” Todd said. “Let’s see if we can find our way out.”

  


* * *

  


After twenty minutes of brainstorming, John ran out of ideas. It was the low point of his life, probably, but since it was just him and Todd and the ever-decreasing forest surrounding them, he admitted that maybe it wasn’t the worst time to let someone down. Todd hadn’t really thought there was an escape from this, even though he’d gamely agreed to help look for one for a while; it was nice knowing, at least, that Todd wouldn’t be holding a grudge when the end came.

John would’ve said it was a relief, except he couldn’t imagine how giving up ever could be.

“Is that it, then?” John asked mockingly. He’d been trying to piss Todd off for the better part of five minutes, just to try something different—it hadn’t worked so far. “You really can’t think of anything else?”

“Nothing that would be helpful.” Todd shrugged, and his shoulder brushed John’s. They were leaning against the same wall now, the interior wall as far from the windows as possible, and John had long since decided that personal space wasn’t that important when space itself was rapidly collapsing. “Only regrets.”

“You, regrets?” John scoffed. “I find that hard to believe.”

“I’m very old, Sheppard. There are many things I could’ve done differently.” Todd shifted to look at him, and John met his eyes. “There is only one I can fix now, however.”

John should’ve taken it as a warning and gotten as far away as possible. Perhaps he would’ve, if not for the fact that they were here, together, and nowhere else.

Whatever the reason, when Todd gently touched his cheek, John closed his eyes.

The kiss that followed was short and awkward in that way that first kisses were, and the edge of Todd’s teeth made the cut on his lip sting. Nonetheless, John returned it with a desperation that surprised himself, twisting around and letting his hands dig into Todd’s sides and pull him closer. Todd was warm at his core though the touch of his lips was cool, and this time when Todd’s hands touched his shoulders, they left an almost electric tingle behind. It was pleasant, startling, and familiar—the Gift of Life, but a mild version that John’s body recognized as stimulating and carnal. It made him hard and aching almost immediately, and Todd _knew_ that, judging by the way his lips curved against John’s.

“That’s a dirty trick,” John said when he pulled back, just shy of panting. “Minutes left to live, and you want me to be uncomfortable for them?”

“That was not my intention,” Todd said, and he guided John’s mouth back to his with a steady hand. With the other, he touched John’s back, pressing them closer together and allowing John to find friction against whatever response Todd was having to all of this. If they’d had hours instead of minutes, John would’ve found out; as it was, the urgency had spiked with his arousal, and he knew in his bones that there wasn’t time.

 _Fuck it_ , John thought as he shoved a hand down his pants, jerking his cock fast and hard. He moaned into Todd’s mouth when he came, and Todd purred in response, then tilted his head to nuzzle his cheek.

“Oh, Sheppard,” he said, close enough that John could feel the vibration in the syllables against his own chest. Nobody said his name like Todd did—nobody ever would. “I would have treated you so well.”

John didn’t know what to say to that, and not even taking a step back helped. It was the story of his life, that attempting to find final words was the last time words failed him.

He was grateful for more than one reason when the next moment saw them both dissolve into the familiar light of a transporter beam.

**Author's Note:**

> Spoiler: Nobody dies, because there's a canon-typical last-minute rescue.
> 
> Though, oops, that awkward moment when your Dad-alus finds you making out with your alien buddy. D:


End file.
